Sheila Danzig – The Degree Peoplehttp://www.thedegreepeople.com
Credential Evaluation ServiceTue, 12 Dec 2017 16:33:42 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.1Immigration is a major issue for womenhttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/immigration-is-a-major-issue-for-women/
Tue, 10 Dec 2013 18:33:01 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2420In early November, 2013, 33 immigrant and nonimmigrant women from unions, immigrant-rights and women’s organizations were arrested in Bellevue, Washington. They had refused to leave the state GOP headquarters until the state’s four Republican congressional representatives agreed to advance a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the U.S. House. Even the Seattle mayor’s wife, Peggy Lynch, participated.

The GOP’s response to that protest? The former state Republican Party chair Kirby Wilbur tweeted, “[I] missed all the fun … today as left wing witches and hags protested and got arrested. They look so old and ugly …”

Current GOP state leadership immediately distanced themselves from Wilbur, but the four Washington GOP congressional members remained silent on the substance of the issue. Their inaction shows how little the party understands about the high stakes of immigration reform.

None of the four Republican congressional members from Washington state has had the courage to sign on to the immigration bill introduced in the House in October 2013. None has provided substantive comments on the issue. And yet, each has a special responsibility to both women and immigrants in moving forward immigration reform.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, is the highest-ranking woman in the GOP leadership. U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, is chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues. U.S. Reps. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, and Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, have large immigrant populations in their districts with economies that depend on immigrant labor. All four should be out front on the issue.

Women and children — three-quarters of all immigrants to America — are the face of immigration. They bear the disproportionate burden of a failed immigration system. In Washington, women and children make up 55 percent of the immigrant population.

Currently, only 27 percent of all employment visas go to women because the industries populated by women are not prioritized for employment. Those who enter on a spouse’s visa are unable to work, regardless of qualifications, which plays a big part in a stunning 77 percent of dependent immigrant spouses experiencing domestic violence.

Given the lack of other options, 70 percent of women who do get legal status obtain it through family sponsorship. While the majority of people deported are men, it is women who must pick up the pieces. In a June study, Human Impact Partners estimated that when a primary earner is deported, he or she leaves an estimated 83,000 partners, mostly women, behind to deal with lost wages and increased risk of poverty and hunger.

That is why women across the country have stepped up their demands for real reform in the face of Republican recalcitrance.

The Bellevue protest was one of nine women-led actions across the country in key Republican districts, coordinated by the We Belong Together campaign. In total, 500 women participated and almost 100 women were arrested, cited for blocking intersections or refusing to leave GOP offices until Republican representatives moved forward on immigration reform.

These protests came on the heels of a protest in Washington, D.C., where 105 women (including 25 undocumented women) were arrested for blocking the street in front of the House of Representatives. It was the largest all-women act of civil disobedience in recent history.

Women’s organizations — including the National Organization for Women, MomsRising, 9 to 5, Planned Parenthood and the YWCA — have endorsed immigration reform, most for the first time this year. Women’s organizations understand that immigration reform is central to women’s equality. For all the hard-fought gains in the history of the women’s movement, immigrant and nonimmigrant women in America must still fight together to remove all the barriers that keep women from living up to their full potential.

Women’s voices are being heard in the field and in Congress. Fourteen Senate women sponsored an important bipartisan amendment to make a proposed merit-based system more fair to women. Instead of assigning points just for education or employment, the amendment would have also assigned points for family relationships and would have reserved a number of visas for fields where women held most of the jobs.

Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., were essential in pushing forward provisions around immigrant domestic-violence victims. The final bill, while still imperfect, had many excellent provisions covering immigrant women.

On the House side, U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D.-Calif., formed a Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform, whose members have been delivering speeches and sending colleagues letters about women and immigration.

Politically, both immigrants and women have shown their voting power. President Obama and recently re-elected New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie each won 55 percent of the women’s vote. Obama also won enormous majorities of immigrant voters, while Christie snagged 51 percent of the Latino vote, compared to his opponent’s 29 percent.

In the end, Republicans should understand that a vote against immigration reform is a vote against women. Sexist comments and inaction on immigration reform will simply lead to continued alienation of women and immigrants. It will also leave millions of women and families separated and living in the shadows.

It’s time for the House to get to work and stop stalling on passing a comprehensive immigration-reform bill that is fair to women and that keeps families together. America’s women and children can’t wait any longer.

Adapted from: http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2022269137_pramilajayapalleeannhallopedwomenimmigration17xml.html by Pramila Jayapal and LeeAnn Hall.
Pramila Jayapal is co-chairwoman of the national campaign We Belong Together: Women for Common-Sense Immigration Reform. LeeAnn Hall is Executive Director of the Alliance for a Just Society.

]]>Canadians’ non-criminal police records lead to denial of entry at U.S. customshttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/canadians-police-records-lead-to-denial-of-entry/
Tue, 10 Dec 2013 18:08:58 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2417Data entered into national police database accessible to American authorities: WikiLeaks

More than a dozen Canadians have told the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office in Toronto within the past year that they were blocked from entering the United States after their records of mental illness were shared with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

One such woman, Lois Kamenitz of Toronto, contacted the office last fall, after U.S. customs officials at Pearson International Airport prevented her from boarding a flight to Los Angeles on the basis of her suicide attempt four years earlier. As she was going through customs, a Customs and Border Protection officer said while he didn’t have Kamenitz’s medical records, he had a contact note from the police that indicated they had attended her home in 2006. Kamenitz says, “It dawned on me that he was referring to the 911 call my partner made when I attempted suicide.”

Another woman, author Ellen Richardson of Toronto, was denied a flight to New York as part of a cruise trip. She was told by U.S. customs officials at Pearson International Airport in late November, 2013, that because she had been hospitalized for clinical depression in June 2012, she could not enter the U.S. As a result, she missed her flight to New York City and a Caribbean cruise.

Worried about travel

Stanley Stylianos, program manager at the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office, says his organization has heard more than a dozen stories similar to Kamenitz’s.

The office has also received phone calls from numerous Canadians who are worried that their own mental health histories may cause security delays during future trips south of the border.

So far, the RCMP hasn’t provided the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office with clear answers about how or why police records of non-violent mental health incidents are passed to the U.S.

Brad Benson from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says medical records aren’t shared between countries. However, “if you have an arrest record, Canada would share that with us,” he says. “Mental illness is actually a [legal] reason that you may not get admitted,” he says. “The issue is always going to be: could someone be a danger to someone [else]?”

WikiLeaks

According to diplomatic cables released earlier this year by WikiLeaks, any information entered into the national Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database is accessible to American authorities.

Information on CPIC may contain notes written by officers while apprehending an individual or responding to a 911 call, a person’s criminal record, outstanding warrants, missing persons reports, information about stolen property, information regarding persons of interest, and individuals’ history of mental illness, including suicide attempts, in which police are involved.

In Kamenitz’s case, this could explain how U.S. officials had a record of the police response to the 911 call her partner made in 2006, after Kamenitz took an overdose of pills.

The database contains anything that could alert authorities to a potential threat to public safety and security, and all CPIC information is available to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, RCMP Insp. Denis St. Pierre says. There are a few exceptions, including information regarding young offenders, which is not available to American authorities.

“If a person is a danger to themselves and the police are dealing with that person in another jurisdiction… It’s valuable information, knowing that perhaps this person may harm themselves,” St. Pierre says.

9.6 million records

According to an RCMP website, the CPIC database stores 9.6 million records in its investigative databanks.

The RCMP and U.S. law enforcement agencies provide reciprocal direct access to each other’s criminal databases in order to stem the flow of narcotics and criminal dealings into North America, according to the WikiLeaks cable.

When asked about the sharing of police information for security purposes, Kamenitz says the government is “obviously not considering what the impact of that can be and how much that can alter a person’s life.” Kamenitz notes that suicide isn’t a criminal offence in either country. “It speaks to the myth we still hold,” Kamenitz says, “that people with a mental illness are violent criminals.”

Individual cases

Kamenitz was eventually allowed to board a plane to Los Angeles, four days after missing her initial flight. But in order to do so, she had to submit her medical records to the U.S. and get clearance from a Homeland Security-approved doctor in Toronto, who charged her $250 for the service.

Similarly, Richardson was told she could only enter the U.S. if a doctor from a certain list signed a document vouching for her. She would also have to pay a fee of $500. Unlike Kamenitz, Richardson turned around and went home.Only later did she wonder how the agent knew her history in the first place. Richardson says she has been on several cruises since 2001, all of which required U.S. flights, with no problems. She said, “It really hit me later — that it’s quite stunning they have that information.”

Benson says the response from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers in Kamenitz’s case was fairly typical. “Now that the note from her doctor is on her records,” he says, “I wouldn’t expect her to have any more problems.”

Included in the Homeland Security forms Kamenitz was required to fill out were questions about whether she had a history of substance abuse and whether she had communicable diseases, such as AIDS or tuberculosis.

“These are private and personal medical records that I’m now handing over to a foreign government,” she says.

Stylianos says Canadians should be outraged that people’s mental health information is shared across the border. “It is an intensely private matter for many individuals,” he says.

‘You can’t control it’

Stylianos says his organization is lobbying for this information not to be included in the CPIC database or shared with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as part of a routine border screening process.

“Once that information gets into the American system, you can’t control it,” he says.

Richardson has hired a lawyer and turned to her member of Parliament, Mike Sullivan, for answers.

Sullivan says the apparent lack of police involvement makes Richardson’s case especially mysterious. While her stay in the hospital was preceded by a 911 call, police were never involved, just an ambulance.

“We don’t know how deep the connection is between U.S. customs” and Canadian authorities, he said.

NDP health critic France Gelinas said she’s been contacted by three people who have been denied entry to the United States based on their personal health history. Gelinas asked Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian to investigate earlier this week.

Cavoukian said she will look into the matter to ensure that personal health information isn’t compromised.

She said such information shouldn’t be shared with anyone outside their health-care providers and doing so undermines the integrity of all health services in Ontario.

“A person’s medical history is something that must remain absolutely confidential,” said Gelinas.

Security?

According to the same diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, which included data from 2004 and 2005, Americans believed that despite the open database sharing, “Canada’s strict privacy laws” have limited the timely exchange of information between the two nations.

In the 10 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, the two countries have struggled to come to an agreement on how best to police the border.

The administrations of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama are in talks over a perimeter security deal that would include further cross-border intelligence-sharing as part of a joint border security strategy.

In an Aug. 29 news conference in Toronto, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told reporters that the privacy rights of Canadians remain top-of-mind during discussions about cross-border law enforcement programs. “Our sovereignty cannot and will not be compromised,” he said.

]]>Celebrity Chef Jose Andres becomes a U.S. citizen after 23 years of residencehttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/celebrity-chef-jose-andres-becomes-a-u-s-citizen-after-23-years-of-residence/
Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:12:44 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2268Jose Andres became a U.S. citizen in Baltimore on November 13th, after 23 years of residence in the United States. The Spanish-born celebrity chef and his wife took the citizenship oath, then tweeted the happy news: “People of America! 4 hours ago my wife and I became AMERICAN CITIZENS… thanks to all for being part of our world!”

“I feel like a virgin — in a good way,” he told the Washington Post that night. During the ceremony, he said, “me and my wife began crying. I wish more people were able to see this. It’s very powerful.”

Andres plans to celebrate his new status in style over the next few weeks. “It’s very important because the country is talking about immigration reform. I need to make sure everybody understands that many immigrants like me — given the right opportunity like I was given — we can have a positive impact in this amazing country.”

]]>Chicago Woman Indicted for Posing as Immigration Attorneyhttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/chicago-woman-indicted-for-posing-as-immigration-attorney/
Mon, 25 Nov 2013 19:52:48 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2263Maricela Haro has been indicted for finding vulnerable immigrants and scamming them out of thousands of dollars.
Knowing how strongly her victims wanted to become legal residents, she falsely claimed that she was an immigration attorney, and that her brother was a high-level U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official who would sign off on any legal residency application. She offered to meet potential clients at a restaurant, rather than at her supposed downtown office, so she wouldn’t have to charge a $200 “consultation fee”. Then she promised them she could guarantee permanent residency status within a year, no matter their situation.

After she charged $2,500 as part of the “application fee,” she went on to grow personally close with her victims. She invited them to her house for parties, including her daughter’s quinceañera – and even asked one of them to pick up her children from school. The victims say they grew to trust Haro and her family after spending time together.

But Haro didn’t deliver on her promises. After taking application fees, she told them to wait for a letter in the mail – sometimes for over a year – and tried to assuage her victims when the letter didn’t arrive. After a while, she just stopped answering the phone.

Working with Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia and his staff, victims filed complaints at the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission and the Chicago Police Department. Those complaints led to Haro’s October arrest. She has since been indicted on “theft of property obtained by deception” for allegedly scamming 12 people, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She is being held at the Cook County Jail until a Nov. 26 hearing and was unavailable to comment for this story.

Haro’s case provides a rare glimpse into a serious problem of immigration fraud that continues to plague immigrant communities. Many victims are afraid to lodge complaints—they are undocumented and not familiar with the legal system, said Laura Lichter, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a group of attorneys who practice and teach immigration law.

“Victims are inherently vulnerable, and scammers count on that,” Lichter said. “Victims are not willing to come forward and report it. [Immigrants] don’t feel safe reporting it; they fear that, if they report it, they will get in trouble.”

Commissioner Garcia said he’s seen the problem only get worse over the years, and he doesn’t expect it to go away any time soon. “I’m especially afraid that if the immigration reform happens,” he said, “there’s going to be an explosion of deceptive practices by shady characters waiting to rip people off.”

Ivan Perez said he never thought he would fall victim to a scammer. He met Haro through a friend in 2011. She told him she could help him and his wife become legal permanent residents – at the price of $2,500 each – and promised to get him a work authorization within a few months. She called later to ask for another $1,500 for each case to cover a supposed penalty for entering the country illegally, Perez confided.

Perez waited for about nine months before checking up on Haro. She never answered when he called to check on the status of his application. Eventually, he figured out what had happened – and that he and his wife weren’t the sole victims. At a meeting organized by Garcia’s staff, he met more than 20 other victims. Some of them are still afraid to publicly come out to tell their stories, he said.

Perez said he had sacrificed time with his family to save money – working two jobs and sleeping in short spurts – ever since he and his wife immigrated from the state of Michoacan, Mexico, more than a decade ago. “I feel bad. I feel dumb,” Perez said. “My friends make fun of me. They ask me, ‘How did you believe that she was a lawyer?’”

“I went to the police because she already stole money from me,” he added. “I don’t want that to happen to other people. I want her to pay for what she deserves.”

]]>Translating between English and… Englishhttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/translating-between-english-and-english/
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 16:39:56 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2055It may not have been George Bernard Shaw who said “The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.” Whoever said it was right! Many words and phrases have a different spelling, meaning, and usage in American English than in British English. Some of these confusing terms may appear on European educational documents and other important papers. We hope we can help you “translate” between those terms and their U.S. equivalents.

The years of learning between the ages of approximately 5 and 14 (primary education in Europe) are called elementary education in the U.S. The phase after that is high school (generally grades 9-12 in the U.S.).

In Europe, the types of degrees are undergraduate (such as bachelor’s) and postgraduate (Master’s, PhD). In the U.S. these are called undergraduate and graduate.

A college that might be termed “chartered” or “incorporated” in Europe would be called “accredited” in the U.S. Accreditation is a process of validation in which institutions of higher learning are evaluated according to a set of standards.

A course in Europe would be called a program in the U.S. A course in the U.S. would refer to just one class. You might say, “I’m taking four courses this semester: Writing, Chemistry, Research Methods, and Hydrology.” And of course programme is spelled program in the U.S.

If you want to note which date you took which course, pay attention to the order of the day and month. The European date format is day/month/year — so 4/6/2013 is June 4, 2013. The American date format is month/day/year – so 4/6/2013 is April 6, 2013.

To continue your philology majorin the U.S., look for linguistics. Similarly, what is called electronics engineering in Europe is known as computer engineering in the U.S.

Finally, if you want to take the railway to your new college, you need to look for the railroad. Unfortunately, our railroad network is used more for freight than passengers. You might do better to rent a car.

]]>Come to College in the USAhttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/come-to-college-in-the-usa/
Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:48:19 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2047If you’re looking for professional and personal growth opportunities, the United States is a great choice. Along with a lot of social freedoms, the US is home to thousands of colleges and universities, famous for their physical facilities, faculty and resources. Course choices are nearly limitless, and students can transfer between colleges fairly easily to take advantage of different locations, degree programs, and levels of instruction.

In order to be accepted into a college or university, you need to complete twelve years of primary and secondary education, and earn a high school diploma. Admissions directors consider a student’s overall grades, class rank, and scores from standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) and the American College Test (ACT). International students are required to submit a high school equivalency report from a foreign credential evaluation agency.

A college or university offers many different fields of study. A student can earn a two-year degree (called an associate degree) or a four-year degree (called a bachelor’s degree) depending on their needs and interests, as well as the specific offerings of the school. Students choose a field to focus on, called a “major.” They may sometimes choose an additional lesser focus, called a “minor.” Some schools offer two-year programs in certain majors, and four-year degrees in other majors. A student may also earn a two-year degree, and return to school later to complete a four-year degree. International students who wish to transfer to a US college or university must submit a course-by-course evaluation report that shows the equivalence of the courses completed in their country in terms of U.S. courses, semester credit hours and grades. That way, their already-earned credits may be properly applied to their new program.

After a bachelor’s degree, a student may wish to pursue further study, especially in certain fields. The next phase of university education consists of the Master’s degree, as well as other postgraduate Diploma or Certificate courses. Master’s programs generally include two years of full-time study, and the completion of a research thesis. Business and Law programs are somewhat similar to Master’s programs. Business school candidates usually need a few years of professional work experience in addition to their bachelor’s degree to be accepted.

Students who want to continue their educational development in their field – especially with an eye toward becoming a research scholar or professor – can pursue a doctorate degree, called a PhD. The term comes from “Doctor of Philosophy” which referred not only to philosophy, but the humanities in general. A PhD can take between three and six years to earn, depending on what types of research is involved, what courses the student has completed in the past, and other factors. The PhD process includes writing a dissertation on an original piece of significant research. The dissertation must be “defended” before a panel of appropriate faculty members.

Professional degrees such as law, dentistry, pharmacy and medicine are generally begun after completing at least three years of undergraduate schooling or after earning a bachelor’s degree, depending on the program. They do not require a specific undergraduate major, though some “prelaw” or “pre-medicine” programs do exist. Many law students, for example, might be history or political science majors, while potential doctors often study biology and chemistry. Professional degrees often have a set of required courses that should be completed before enrollment. These are called “prerequisites.” Some of these programs also include a sort of apprenticeship program, such as medical residency and internship, which must be completed after graduation.

Wherever you are in your educational journey, look to the United States! With its wide range of majors and degree programs, as well as a diverse student body spread among a multitude of climates and sub-cultures, there’s sure to be something to suit everyone.

]]>Some For-Profit Law Schools Criticizedhttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/some-for-profit-law-schools-criticized/
Tue, 22 Oct 2013 19:49:40 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=2042As law-school enrollment declines, at least one company plans to invest in legal education. But the private-equity-backed group, called the InfiLaw System, hasn’t yet won over the legal academy.

InfiLaw launched in 2004, with the purchase of the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville. Two other for-profit schools followed close behind—the Phoenix School of Law in Arizona in 2004 and the Charlotte School of Law in North Carolina in 2006.

The company says it targets students, including many minorities, whose grades or scores don’t qualify them for admission at top law schools.

The schools emphasize that they provide more feedback than other schools and focus on hands-on learning. One informal goal is to connect students with at least 400 hours of work experience by graduation.

Some in the academy think InfiLaw puts pressure on the already tight job market for law school graduates, and may not properly prepare its students.

Defenders of InfiLaw claim it seeks to democratize law school education, and feel its financial resources could help out law schools seeking an investor or buyout partner.

“InfiLaw is applying a private-equity model to legal education, and so far I’m fairly impressed by what I’ve seen,” said William Henderson, a law professor at Indiana University who studies the legal profession.

For the most part, InfiLaw schools haven’t had trouble filling seats. Florida Coastal enrolls about 1,250 students, making it one of the larger U.S. law schools. Charlotte enrolls about 1,360. Tuition and fees at all three InfiLaw schools are around $40,000 per year.

Unfortunately, while seats have been filled, success for InfiLaw school graduates has been harder to achieve. Bar-passage rates among them have fluctuated in recent years but have often fallen well below state averages. Job-placement rates have suffered as well. In 2012, for instance, only about half of Charlotte’s graduating class got jobs that required passing the bar, at least 10 percentage points below the state’s other private law schools and the national average.

“Placement is a challenge at every law school in the country, and I wouldn’t be satisfied with our bar-passage rates unless they were 100%,” said Peter Goplerud, the president of InfiLaw’s consulting arm. “Continuous improvement is what we’re striving for.”

The company’s approach doesn’t sit well with everyone. In August, at the 10-year-old Charleston School of Law in South Carolina, two of the school’s three owners announced they were selling the institution to InfiLaw, which pledged to upgrade the institution’s technology, add clinical courses and increase diversity.

Although the school was already for-profit, faculty and alumni groups voiced objections to the sale within days. Their main concern was that in a bid to boost enrollment, InfiLaw would reduce the school’s admissions standards. That would in turn hurt bar passage and employment rates and eventually diminish the school’s reputation. Forty-one students ultimately transferred, an increase of about 64% above the prior year. The controversy has put the sale on hold.

Two recent federal lawsuits accuse InfiLaw’s schools of shady tactics. Last year, a group of Florida Coastal graduates sued the school, alleging that it advertised misleading postgraduate employment statistics to lure prospective students and earn high tuition fees. The group is seeking, among other things, $100 million in tuition repayments. In June, two tenured professors at Phoenix School of Law sued the school and InfiLaw, claiming they were fired after objecting to proposals that would make it harder for students to transfer.

A spokeswoman for InfiLaw called the pending lawsuits “baseless” and without merit. In court papers, the defendants have denied the claims. Mr. Goplerud said he was “well aware” of the concerns but they are far overblown.

“Even the brightest foreign students graduating from U.S. universities cannot obtain continuing visas and are forced to leave the United States, taking their knowledge and ideas with them… Matters of life and liberty are decided in our system of immigration justice without the most basic protections [such as legal counsel] that we expect in American courts.”

Thus, the U.S. House of Representatives must pass comprehensive immigration reform. The U.S. Senate has offered a bipartisan CIR bill, which, while not perfect, is better than continuing the current system that divides children from their parents, erodes our borders and hurts the U.S. economy. Realistic immigration reform can strengthen our borders and address the tremendous costs — monetary and moral — of enforcement and detention.

Two relatively little-known provisions of the “Jobs Originating through Launching Travel Act” – the federal bill still in its early stages – could further stimulate a growing housing recovery in Southwest Florida. Many people have heard of the enforcement provisions, but these two key points could create a direct economic benefit for parts of the U.S., including Southwest Florida.

Under the proposed federal reform, the stays in the U.S. of Canadian visitors and real estate buyers could be extended. It also would grant temporary visas to foreigners from any country who pay cash for luxury real estate in the U.S.

Canadian buyers, in particular, have been among the biggest purchasers of Southwest Florida, and cash transactions now account for two-thirds of all deals regionally.

Foreigners could apply for a temporary visa for year-round residency if they:

purchase $500,000 or more worth of property,

maintain ownership,

reside in the U.S. for more than six months a year,

are at least 55 years old,

hold full health insurance coverage, and

pass mandatory criminal background screening

Currently, foreign home buyers who have not obtained U.S. citizenship can only stay here for six months in any given calendar year. Under the new proposal, foreign real estate buyers could apply to renew their temporary visa every three years.

Under the bill, Canadian retirees could visit the U.S. for up to 240 days at a time if they:

maintain a residence in Canada,

be at least 55 years old,

have purchased or signed a rental agreement for a property in the U.S. worth $250,000 or more,

hold full health insurance coverage, and

pass mandatory criminal background screening

Most Canadians, however, would risk losing their centralized health care back home if they leave their country for more than six months.

Area Realtors hope relaxed immigration rules could further lift sales to a segment of buyers that already is energizing the housing market. Realtors say Canadians flock to Southwest Florida because they see value here. “I go up to Canada every year, show them pictures of palm trees and beaches, and they come on down,” Bill Weed, a Realtor with brokerage firm Michael Saunders & Co. in Lakewood Ranch, told the Herald Tribune. “It feels like that feeding frenzy again.”

]]>Heritage Report Estimate of Legalization Costs Overlooks Immigration Reform’s Economic Benefitshttp://www.thedegreepeople.com/heritage-report-estimate-of-legalization-costs-overlooks-immigration-reforms-economic-benefits/
Thu, 16 May 2013 19:10:04 +0000http://www.thedegreepeople.com/?p=1592On May 6, 2013, the Heritage Foundation released a report which attempts to assess the fiscal costs associated with legalizing the 11 million unauthorized individuals living in the United States. The new report is not very different from a 2007 study, widely criticized both at the time of publication and now. The report released this month reminds us why fiscal cost analyses cannot replace broader economic analyses.

According to Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, the 2013 Heritage report is “a close redux of the 2007 fiscal analysis which they constructed on a foundation of faulty assumptions, and by design offers no analysis of the economic impacts of immigration reform. Instead, the authors take a very narrow look at what the newly legalized would pay in taxes over their lifetime. At the heart of the report is the assumption that everyone who lacks a college degree, including U.S. citizens, is a net drain on the American economy. In this very dark view of workers in the United States, those who build or maintain the houses, offices, cars, and roads for those with college degrees are a drag on our economy and society. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. People are more than just the taxes they pay, and honest, hardworking people are the backbone of our economy.”

Johnson continues: “Ironically, Heritage claims to be using the methodology of a 1997 National Research Council study which estimated that ‘the economic benefits of immigration run as much as $10 billion a year.’ Since then, especially in the last few years, we have witnessed a burst in economic research showing the strongly positive net impacts of immigration in general and comprehensive immigration reform in particular. Broad agreement has emerged as to not only the net economic and fiscal benefits of immigration, but the acceleration of those benefits over time. These analyses examine not only fiscal costs, but balance them with the fiscal and economic gains that would come from reform, including increasing tax contributions (full tax participation by legalized immigrants, with increasing tax revenue as their wages rise over time), consumer purchasing power (increasing wages means more money to spend), and an environment that yields gains from greater immigrant entrepreneurship and innovation.”